Jesús Garrido is the author of the recently published book "Respectful Crianza". Who follows the outreach work of this pediatrician recognizes the ease with which they pass on their knowledge of child health, and after reading the book that I present to you today, I attest that it is so. In fact, I was already thinking about it when I came across any of the published entries in his blog My Pediatrician Online.
From that publication, which I follow on twitter, I learned two things: on the one hand all aspects related to child rearing, feeding or sleeping can be communicated to parents in a natural way, without resorting to technical language (even if you are a medical professional); and on the other hand, when appealing to the ability to decide that parents have, it is better not to condition this ability, resorting to dogmas or radicalism. With 12 years of motherhood behind me, and being a good reader, it would be difficult for me to point out which reading has helped me the most or has been most satisfactory, I like to integrate all the good things that I find, and I reject the lists of recommendations that are difficult to apply. Now I'm going to explain why I like this book.
"Respectful Parenting" It has been edited by Oberón (from the Anaya group), and it could well be a guide to the care of the baby in the first two years of life, but it is also a sample of common sense that aims to make moms and dads feel more secure in a stage that is coming with many changes to all levels.
And if it is important to act safely by caring for such vulnerable beings, It is no less so to resist the pressures of the environment, because as Garrido affirms “The most widespread sport in the world is to explain to others how to raise children; we all know how to do it when we are not the ones involved ”. I had not told you yet, but to his professional knowledge and his ease of transmitting, the author combines the sense of humor that we need so much to understand ourselves and our environment.
A few weeks ago, during a talk I gave, a mother talked about how perfect other families seem compared to her own; but that's a wrong idea, well it is precisely our imperfections that help us build a perfect family, as long as we move for the interest of the children and the family group itself. And I am telling you this because I really liked seeing this idea reflected in the book.
A vision of parenting seen from balance.
A difficult balance to find in other publications: somehow with the development of technology and the irruption of what we know as web 2.0, they have soured. You will see, As Jesus explains, most families practice co-sleeping, or at least their babies fall asleep in the arms of the adult, but it is no less true that all children end up sleeping alone at one age or another, why then the radicalisms? Another controversial issue is breastfeeding, Garrido is a firm defender, always understanding that sometimes 'circumstances dictate' and there are some other mothers who successfully establish mixed breastfeeding.
From the balance, and from the common sense, because what parent wants to be given rigid guidelines as a parenting council that probably do not adapt to the needs and rhythms of their family?
Respectful parenting is a way of understanding the health of the child, based on differences and respect for them. J. Garrido
Is your baby biological or robot?
In this book you will discover that your family is imperfect but happy (and this, of course, is much better than being "perfect and unhappy"); and also tips for understanding or feeding the newborn baby. Exclusive breastfeeding, changed sleep patterns, milestones in the development of babies from 0 to 24 years old. You will also understand the entire growth process and family relationships from a novel vision based on three axes: Food, Sleep and Coexistence.a, with the importance that each one of them has.
And one thing that caught my attention, and I wanted to tell you, is an idea that Garrido transmits to us: sometimes the advice that parents receive does not take into account the reality of babies, which are changeable and have different rhythms from adults, who need to be respected. Consequently, these little ones are perceived as if they were robots, and they are not: your son or daughter does not have to enter the statistics, meet your expectations or meet standards ... it is simply a baby, from which you have a lot to learn, but above all to which you will have to adapt many of your daily practices.
The author practices respectful pediatrics, and lets parents take the reins of parenting, because there are always options, but above all because each baby and each child are different, and have their own adaptive mechanisms. Freeing moms and dads from 'fears', almost inevitable (especially with the first child) is one of the objectives that are met by reading "Respectful Parenting".
I have loved this book, and I sincerely believe that it will bring you a lot. You will find it in your usual bookstore, or on Amazon.